Latest research from UK suggests that the traditional English breakfast is in significant decline there owing to dislike of grease by the younger generation. If true, that has implications for the popular daily fry-up in Pattaya whose British and European expats are ageing and not being replaced in significant numbers by younger recruits.
Guise Bule, chairman of the English Breakfast Society, claims the traditional high-quality bacon, sausages and eggs have been “dragged through the mud” by cheap ingredients these days in greasy spoon cafes. This in turn has led to the younger generation in UK preferring healthier alternatives such smashed avocado toast, oatmeal pancakes and fresh fruit salads.
The nationwide polling by Ginger Group suggests that almost three quarters of UK residents under 30 prefer eating less greasy food than their seniors, whilst almost a third of millennials have never eaten a traditional English fry-up. Youthful respondents said the meal reminded them of unshaven men wearing vests in transport cafes. Particularly disgusting were processed sausages, fatty bacon, tiny butterpats and lukewarm beans.
In Pattaya, there is an ongoing battle between internet warriors claiming to have eaten, or been responsible for, the best English breakfast which is offered in over 100 locations in Pattaya and on the neighboring Darkside. Most of the claims appear to rest on gargantuan portion size rather than quality of the ingredients, with the number of sausages or the circumference of the plate being especially significant.
If Ginger Group is right, the English breakfast in Pattaya is set for a decline. Most British and European expats are over 60, according to immigration sources, dependent on one year extensions of stay for retirement or marriage. The findings also indicate that the average cost of a greasy spoon breakfast in UK is about eleven pounds (440 baht), more than double the cost in Pattaya according to snapshot research on Facebook.
